A Person of Change

A Synthesis Paper for FFP

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in the FFP Subject

Submitted by
Daryl Chinney R Cajarte
BS Chemistry 1 - YD

Submitted to
Ms Irish E Bobadilla

October 05 2015
Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan

There are people who you meet in life that will change your view in the world and
everything else in it. I have been enrolled in this institution for five years and ever since I
have first stepped in its gates, I could hear the word magis everywhere and even love
is expressed more in deeds than in words. Simply put, magis is doing more while the
latter says that actions speak louder than words. But is that what it all really is? Through
the First Year Formation Program (FFP), I have truly grasped what those two things
really mean.
Leadership. This has been the first lesson I have learned during the five-month
journey I had with FFP. I was the type of person who was shy and afraid to speak up. I
was never into being a leader back then because I have always been more of a follower
than the one giving the orders. It was that day when our formation group was made that
I realized how hard it is to be a leader but fulfilling at the same time. Leadership was
never an easy task when I only knew 1 out of 7 of my groupmates. Telling and texting
them to attend Mass for Life or organizing for a formation activity has always been
difficult because there were always people who never listen and ignore me and they do
not show up during the activity which was frustrating and I felt like I failed. I came to
realize that I had to lead them in a certain way because that is the only way to make
them listen. I was not the leader who was so strict that the members would hate me but
I was the kind of leader who was flexible but knew when to set the limits. I also realized
that being a leader made me a better person. It made me be more of myself and what I
am capable of. It made me more patient and more confident.
I learned that being in Xavier University itself is not something that should be
taken for granted because not all people are given the opportunity to be in the
institution. This privilege has entitled me to strive for academic excellence. As a first
year Bachelor of Science in Chemistry student, I must learn and gain knowledge and
skills that will benefit me in being a chemist in the future. In college, mediocrity never
works anymore. I have to make everything I do exceptional rather than just doing it for
the sake of passing. I admit that I had done poor quality work before but knowing the
real meaning of magis, I started to realize that there is no easy way to success.
Whenever I am given two options, the easy one or the hard one, I now choose the hard

choice because it may be hard but the reward is remarkable. Magis is never settling for
less. If I know that I can do better then why not do it? It made me reflect of the things I
had done in the past, wishing that I should have had done it differently.
Love more. This was what I have learned towards the end of my formation class.
There will be people who would break your heart and you feel like it would never heal
but then you also have the people who would make you realize that having your heart
broken is not the end of the world. He made me realize that. He was someone I never
expected to fall for but now that I have, I do not regret every single minute of it. But
loving more does not only mean the love for my other half but also to the people around
me. FFP made me think that I should be more loving to everyone to my friends, to my
family and especially to God. It taught me that when I love someone, I should tell them
and express it because I never know when will be the last time that they will still be with
me. Loving someone also means that I should be able to show or express it to them
because actions always speak louder than words. Saying that I love someone is not
enough since words can always have a different meaning, but the simple good morning
or good night texts or even just saying thank you or Im sorry is a big proof that I truly
care and love the person. Love people with all your heart and all that you could give
because is it not what Jesus taught us? To love is to lay down your life for them no
matter the cost.
The First Year Formation Program (FFP) has changed me for the better. I feel
that deep in my being because as I look back in the past, I know that I was not the
same. I was the shy one, I was the girl who was afraid of taking risks, I was the girl who
was afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve because she was afraid to get her heart
broken again. Then I realized that I could never express my love and do magis when I
am so afraid of getting hurt and taking a leap of faith. Saint Ignatius of Loyola asks us,
What more can I do for God? This question is what I ask myself constantly whenever I
do something whether it is academic related or not. The experiences and the activities
that we did in this class are something that I am really thankful for and also the people
that I have met and the friendships that I have built are to be treasured for the rest of my
life.